As people of faith, we believe a loving God created the plants and animals that provide fibers and gave humankind the ingenuity to spin yarn, weave cloth, and sew garments. From the beginning, clothing was used not just for modesty and warmth, but also to indicate ethnicity, allegiance, occupation, status, and gender.
As an avid sewer, I’m fascinated by the cultural history of cloth and clothing. Sewing runs in my family. My mother was an excellent seamstress and taught me to sew. But as an adult, I sewed fewer and fewer clothes for myself. Giving up sewing and buying cheap mass-produced clothes robbed me of the enjoyment and satisfaction of making my own wardrobe. Volunteering with the costume team at my local community theater resurrected my long-dormant sewing skills. It’s my version of stewardship.
Cloth and clothing are valuable gifts from God. I want to consume what I’ve been given responsibly. I am happily sewing my own clothes again because I’ve come to the realization that it’s poor stewardship to buy more clothing because I can’t resist the sales rack.
This message is an excerpt from “Wardrobe stewardship” by Kristine A. Luber in the September 2019 issue of Gather magazine.
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